The Airplane raises the altitude of your attitude, making you feel uplifted. It stimulates feel-good chemistry in your brain and works your biceps, triceps, and upper torso. Imagine that you’re flying through blue skies as you do this exercise.

You need the hand weights for this exercise; ankle weights are optional. Use the ankle weights if you want additional tone and strength. Adding the extra weight exercises your legs a bit more.

Follow these steps to fly the Airplane:

1. Stand with your feet together and directly below your hips, and hold the weights in front of your chest with the knuckles of each hand touching. This is the starting position.

2. Slowly inhaling to a count of four, bend your left knee, extend your right leg behind you as you lean forward, and open your arms to a C position. While you’re extending your leg, look slightly upward toward your forehead and brow. To achieve the C position, imagine you’re crunching a soda can with your shoulder blades. To help with balancing, press your standing foot into the floor, draw your belly in and up, and draw your tailbone down. If you feel pinched in your neck and shoulders or you otherwise experience distress as you maneuver the hand weights, use lighter weights or no weights at all.

3. Slowly exhaling to a count of four, return the hand weights to your chest as you lower your leg to the floor and assume the starting position.

Repeat this exercise six to eight times with each leg, pause to rest, and then do the exercise six to eight more times with each leg.